


Lost and found

by SrebrnaFH



Series: Double Pride Double Trouble - series [9]
Category: Das doppelte Lottchen | Lottie and Lisa - Erich Kästner, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Army, But Teddy thinks she is his entire world, Communication, Crying, F/M, Getting Back Together, Height difference, Idiots in Love, Life Choices, Military, Military Uniforms, Mina is not really a wallflower she just thinks she isn't worth a lot, Relationship Discussions, Relationship Problems, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, University plans, school problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25007365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SrebrnaFH/pseuds/SrebrnaFH
Summary: It's nearly Christmas, Teddy is coming back home and Mina is... waiting for him?Oneshot no. 8 in DPDT series(in 2 chapters)
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, OC - Mina Bennet/OC - Teddy Strickland, OC Mina Bennet & OC - Rose Darcy
Series: Double Pride Double Trouble - series [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1273559
Comments: 12
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so. This will get better. Although there is a lot of crying, because Mina is, frankly, a bit of a mess.

_This one has been through a lot._

Mina looked at her left glove in dismay. Hardly old, purchased just that fall, and now there was already a hole at the tip of her ring finger, because she had worn them everywhere, including the worksite at the mansion, and managed to tear this on some random nail. And it was rather nippy outside (with a forecast that threatened it would turn even worse), so that fingertip was already feeling quite chilled. But then, the weather was one of the reasons she was on the platform right then, after all.

She tried to pull the hole closed, as if it would help it to knit back together.

Obviously, it didn't.

_Note to self: deal with this at home, before Mom notices. I'll have to put them in my bag or something, or she will notice and worry._

Mom focused on details like that, and she then worried about them. So she would worry about Mina's gloves, and possibly frozen fingertips, all the while having other, more important things to worry about - Rose being so far away at the university, Alex needing special attention, Dad's foundation projects undergoing both a financial and an IT security audit and Grand Uncle Henry being in the hospital. Mom definitely had enough on her plate and she didn't need Mina's gloves on top of it all. Mina was a grownup and she could repair her own darn gloves.

_Ehh. Mom totally will focus on them, because at least with my gloves, she'd be able to actually resolve something... Better buy a new pair or repair these today, before I forget. Mom and Dad worry anyway, so..._

She sighed.

Because they had reasons, didn't they?

There was her health (still getting sick on every bigger seasonal change), there was her social life (lack thereof), there was her education... They couldn't understand why she had chosen the (comparatively) small University of Derby, considering that a, she didn't choose it for any particular professor or subject or even because of a fabulous offer of foreign languages (she took Italian and German) and b, she _could_ have picked Imperial...! With Mom working there, they knew the admission process and Mina's grades, afterschool activities and contests she participated in at the Lambton school made her a shoo-in for at least one scholarship (at that point Dad rolled his eyes and reminded them that he could afford to send her even to the Imperial without financial aid) and definitely qualified her to be accepted without much fuss.

Mina fidgeted with her cuff as she remembered the emotionally exhausting conversation she had had with Mom, who had offered to check the procedures for transferring her credits and finding her a spot somewhere else, somewhere more challenging.

She wiped off the tears that sprang to her eyes at the very thought of changing to Imperial, and, whatever Mom and Dad thought, it was _not_ because she felt not good enough for Imperial or any other major school.

Or at least not _only_.

It was not even the most important part.

It was the idea of going back to London - temporarily, but still - it was the idea of leaving home that filled her with dread. She knew Rose had been impatient to go to Amsterdam, to study with the best specialists, but Mina's dreams were never that big. Or went that far.

In fact, while her sister had specific plans (and a laser-focus on her career aims), while some of their classmates took a year or two to get work experience and save some money, planning to pick courses that interested them next term, Mina felt— untethered. Or rather, not pulled into any specific direction that would give her even an idea of what she wanted to do next.

She liked computers well enough and studying computer science (and programming in particular) was fine, but she never felt she would be as good a designer and programmer as Mom. It just didn't seem interesting enough for her to actually get so involved with it. Actually, she didn't feel passionate enough about anything in particular, except for music, and she was a realist enough to not even consider making a career out of that.

What else did she have? Crafts were not enough to live on, unless Aunt Evie accepted her as a trainee and anyway Mina was not a fan of sewing on a machine all day long.

She felt just a little bit useless, as it was. She was doing OK at school and that was it. With the work at the main house stables on hold because of the cold, the gardens all covered up and secured for the winter, the new house working as perfectly as she and Dad could make it (learning house repair, including dealing with central heating, replacing network cables and filling in missing grout, had been the highlight of the fall semester) and the apple juice press co-op running nearly by itself, as long as she checked the progress and storage every two-three days, there was nothing she felt compelled to do. Nothing sparked her interest enough for her to get involved. She'd rather spend a day poring over the fabric catalogues to search for replacement coverings for the official living room chairs than, for example, join her year for a pub night. Or even for a coffee.

Mina wiped her nose with her glove.

_I miss Rose._

She knew she had taken the easy way out, picking the kind of subjects Mom had already half-prepared her for, and that Rose did not fully understand her decision, but at least her sister did not try to force her to explain herself again and again, like all the _actual proper adults_ did.

She sniffed.

With Rose over in Holland, there was nobody to really talk to. Zoom and Skype and phone were all fine and good, but not the proper replacement for actual contact, and other than Rose... She didn't really have anyone to talk to.

Even if she had been close enough with their former classmates, all of them either had proper nine-to-five jobs, or had left to study somewhere, or were busy with their own little business ventures— and anyway, she didn't want to trouble anyone with her anxieties. Even explaining it to Delly or Jackie seemed like whining about nothing. Because that was all it was, whining. And she was a grownup, dammit! She was supposed to be able to deal with a bit of uncertainty and find herself _stuff to do_.

_If only everything I can do wasn't so depressingly uninteresting. I'd rather calculate the amount of stone needed to repave the basement properly than write yet another program calculating the polynomials or simulating the lift behaviour._

The train rolled to a stop, but she didn't pay attention, focused on her cuff and glove and the overwhelming feeling of lack of sense of everything. Even being there, on that platform, made no sense. What if he didn't want to talk to her? What— would she seem needy? Clingy? After all, not like she could claim she just randomly drove over to Matlock and sat on the platform right in time for this particular train to arrive.

Would Teddy even want to talk to her? After the way she behaved, like a whiny little baby who couldn't cope with him talking about other girls? After Rose told him not to come to the house, so that Mina would not fall apart again (and she would have, because she was a weak, pathetic little girl who couldn't even stand a short separation from her boyfriend before going all crazy jealous)? After Rose told them _both_ to use that semester to carefully consider what it was that they wanted from each other?

She picked at the hole, pulling at one of the threads.

 _One more reason not to leave for London_ , she reasoned. _As long as I stay home, everyone else comes to visit. If I leave— It will be me who will be visiting, just to see Mom and Dad and Alex. I would have to coordinate with Rose to be there at the same time, and who knows what kind of schedule both schools would have._

As it was, she had been home when Uncle Richard and Evan had brought their newly adopted girl over for the first time. She was home when Rose came for a random weekend - they spent half of the first night talking. She would be home for Christmas, in barely a week, when Aunt Jane and Uncle Charles would be coming, and she would be able to help with all the cleaning, decorating and cooking, instead of just arriving when someone else had dealt with that and feeling like a guest in her own house.

She bit her lip and sighed. And sniffed, her nose going cold and numb and she considered wrapping herself more tightly with her scarf--

Mina found herself engulfed in a sudden warm hug, smelling of familiar cologne and warm cotton and tea. _Safety._

"What are you doing here, Starlight?"

She sniffed - again! - and looked up, into Teddy's worried eyes.

"Waiting for you," she said simply, cutting to the chase. If he now laughed or—

"Mina?"

_OK, surprised but not letting go and definitely doesn't sound like he thinks I shouldn't be here._

"It's cold. I thought it would be better if someone picked you up, because buses—"

Oh.

Teddy was kissing her.

_Oh._

Teddy was holding her and kissing her and suddenly they were both breathless and smiling, and she was clinging to him with all her might, and she was definitely blushing, judging by the way her cheeks were burning hot.

And again. Teddy, Teddy. _Teddy is here and--_

He pulled her closer, one hand easily spanning her waist, the other around her shoulders, pressing his face into the mess of hair that her hood always left at the top of her head.

She breathed it all in, the roughness of his new coat - too new to be comfortably worn out on the edges - the large hand in a leather glove now on the back of her head, wide shoulders moving under the thick fabric, all Teddy. She felt like crying and laughing at the same time, at the idiot she had been, to try to 'set him free' and so convinced she would be able to move on and--

Instead, she reached up and pulled him down to face her and kissed him, all teeth and tongue and welcoming desperation.

"Mina," he whispered, a bit dazed.

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should—"

"Find some warmer place."

"Definitely."

"Come on. I'm parked just outside the station. I'll drive you home and we can talk on the way - or make a little stopover somewhere--"

"But— Dad just called me today and said our flat had a major heating failure, so their plans have changed. As in, we're spending Christmas at grandma's."

Mina grimaced. Victoria Strickland was not her favourite person in the world (and the sentiment was returned) and she knew how much Teddy would have hated having to spend two whole weeks at her place. The situation had to be pretty dire if his parents had to pick _that_ as a solution for their holidays.

"Then you're going home with me and then we'll see," she decided. "Mom would have had my head if I allowed you to spend an hour on the bus getting there, in this cold, without at least a lunch first. And don't even try to mention your bike, not on _these_ roads."

"Buses are heated. And my bike--"

She pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to stare him down from the disadvantageous three inches of height difference.

"Are you arguing against being fed a proper meal now, Theodore?"

He opened his mouth and then shut it with nearly a click.

"That's what I thought. Now, come on, let's get—"

"Wait," Teddy wrapped her in a hug, again, one of these hugs that made her want to melt into it and fall asleep, because Teddy, just by being himself, isolated her from the world around them, and she could finally _stop worrying—_ "What is wrong?" he asked softly, huffing into her hair. "You seem— Tense. What happened? Is it— is it about us? About— About August? I mean, I can totally understand— I was planning to call you today, after I unpacked, then Dad called me, and what I wanted to say is _definitely_ not something I want everyone on the train to hear—"

She pulled away, slowly. There was a true concern in his voice, yes, but she couldn't just tell him, could she. He had all these goals, ideas, plans — his degree, the Army, helping people—

While all she could think of was setting up a new heated pavilion for more exotic plants. Or how to rearrange the gardens for the next year, to get less pumpkins and more tomatoes. Or how the guys from the ground crews had dealt with the blight on apples the year before and now she would have to make sure they had the needed chemicals ready before the season would start—

"I'm just tired," she tried smiling, but failed, judging by Teddy's narrowed eyes. "Come on, let's get you to Pemberley. I'm sure Mom will be happy to see you."

"I'd rather spend some time just with you, Starlight," he murmured into her hair. "I've missed you— I was stupid, and I'm so sorry, and—"

"Teddy."

After their "let's just stay friends" breakup back in August and the way it had left them both moping and distressed, and the scolding delivered by Rose, they had exchanged some random texts, but had not really spoken, in person or online. She had found it _hateful_.

She had been missing him. Terribly. But she had been too anxious to call, afraid she actually _would_ make it worse. If it was even possible.

Adults - well, _older_ adults - didn't know the details. Her parents probably saw the breakup as an inevitable aspect of geographical separation. Mom only asked cautiously if she needed to talk about it a few times, when she caught Mina at a particular low, but then she got busy with Alex and his refusal to start talking properly-- And Dad's "understanding" shoulder pats only made her feel even worse, because she didn't want him to _understand_ , she wanted someone to tell her that Teddy would be back, or that she had done the right thing, at least. That one big life decision she had taken was correct.

But she had missed him. And couldn't even tell anyone about it, because it was her own bloody fault he wasn't there!

And now there he _was_ , all tall and handsome and cheeks pinking in the cold, and his fleece scarf was slightly undone by her tugging on it, and he was probably getting cold... And she still didn't know what he was thinking of.

But he had kissed her, and now everything tasted and smelled of tea and Teddy's cologne and leather and—

Oh, they were kissing again.

She had definitely missed that. Him. Them.

They parted, a little out of breath, to find the platform deserted, barring one very bemused railway guard watching them from her spot at the station entrance.

"Where is your car, you said?"

_Well, Mister Strickland, you kind of sound dazed here. Hm._

She turned just enough to nod towards the parking lot.

Teddy picked up his discarded luggage and shouldered the laptop bag, not allowing her to help him even with the smallest piece.

"I'll be fine. It's my fault, I'm the one who packed into three bags instead of just using my backpack..."

"Good thing I took a bigger car, they can all fit on the back seat. And it has better heating than my Mini."

Anyway, fitting Teddy in her Mini was a challenge she wouldn't relish, so Mom's old Skoda was a much better choice.

They sat for a few minutes in the car, allowing it to warm up, letting Teddy lose the scarf and these leather gloves - which led to another minute or two of kissing - which led to them being much warmer much quicker.

It was _good_.

Still, they couldn't stay in the parking lot forever, so shortly they were on the road, heading towards Lambton (and home), heralded only by Mina's short text to Mom "bringing a guest for tea" to ensure there would be actual food waiting for them once they arrived. "Buy some rolls," came back in minutes, so she mentally plotted the way to one of these lovely little bakeries that were peppered all over the town. She had her favourites, but all of them were _good_ , so—

Teddy's deft fingers brushed the strand of hair that was falling into her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

"How is the renovation of the mansion going?"

"Slowly, but we have progress. Dad is like a hen with a chick really, all the time trying to watch everyone's work, which annoys the contractors, baffles the construction crews and worries Mom. They actually seem to feel better when I'm the one checking the progress."

They crawled together with a small traffic jam caused by - if she could see it correctly - everyone cautiously passing around an overturned heap of hay capsules.

"Aren't you—" he paused uncomfortably. "I mean, I know it sounds bad, but aren't you afraid they are just avoiding your Dad because he'd be able to call them on their bullshit if they did something not according to the plan, or the rules, or whatever you have?"

She grimaced.

"At the beginning, I kind of was, however much it pains me to admit it. I mean, who wants a nineteen year old girl to be their overseer on a job like this? I was like three quarters sure they were trying to get some crap under the radar. Turns out, they usually don't work with the owner directly, but with delegated staff, and in our case, that means the normal antique maintenance crew that we contract for the actual old items, the grounds crews, Mrs Reynolds and me. Plus the lady from the National Trust that helps owners to keep their property up to the required standard, so she is in once a week to review the work done. She actually told me I'm less intimidating to work with because Dad just oozes 'that Darcy thing' when he is in his landowner mode, and I'm—" she shrugged. "I'm just Mina. On one hand, they know I can solve stuff, because I'm a Darcy, but they find it easier to talk to a kid who drives a beat-up Skoda than to a man who owns the better part of real estate in Lambton."

"And drives a Jag."

"And drives a Jag, oh, yes. The carpenter who makes the replacement window casings said he'd rather wait for me with questions, because when he talks to Dad he feels like he should take off his cap and look properly humble in front of the Master of the Manor."

"Oh my. But yes, both your Dad and uncle Richard have that _certain something_ that screams 'grandsons of an actual earl'."

She was still smiling when she pulled up in front of the bakery. That one was particularly nice, since they had prepackaged boxes of assorted biscuits that were a favourite among the construction crews and became a constant part of food delivered to the mansion.

"Just wait a moment here. Don't— don't go anywhere, OK?"

He pulled her closer and, well, _snogged her_ could be the only applicable verb in that case.

"I'll be right here," he breathed.

She made her choice in a bit of a daze, trying to make sure she had the absolute minimum required - the rolls and a box of cheese crackers, since neither she, nor Mom or Mrs Reynolds ever had any success baking these, and Teddy would be significantly happier if there was something not-sweet available. As they were being packed, she checked the boxed sweets, considering if she shouldn't buy some to add to the Christmas packages that would be distributed over the following week in the office—

"Seven quid fifty, Miss Darcy," the woman said with a smile and Mina froze suddenly.

"Uhm?"

"Sorry, sorry. Just— my brother is working on these stone steps? Jeremy? He was telling me stories about how you were managing everything in the old house, and anyway, since Mister Darcy owns this building, we were talking about the landowners, and he said that you were unlike some stuck up kids in the other places he had done work at--"

Mina nodded, smiled and felt overwhelmed.

Positively surprised, but overwhelmed.

"Thank you," she managed to utter finally and inched toward the door. "I— Say hello to Jeremy for me, and tell him we'll call when the outside work starts in the spring?"

"I sure will!"

Teddy watched her anxiously as she dropped the bags next to his luggage and then sat behind the wheel, breathing deeply.

"Starlight?"

"Just— need a moment. Whoa. I mean. Whoa. Will tell you once I process this. Anyway."

She started the car and turned towards the lane leading out of town.

"You OK?"

"Mostly. Tell me about the exams, hm?"

He grimaced.

"I think I lived on tea and sausage rolls for a week. And ramen. And—"

"Teddy!"

She watched, from the corner of her eye, as he blushed hotly and looked down at his clasped hands.

"I didn't have time to go to the cafeteria," he said finally. "And I can really cook only, like, five things. It got really boring after a while."

"But you—" she narrowed her eyes, counting. "Six things, if you count that sauerkraut soup."

"You hated the sauerkraut soup."

"But that doesn't mean _you_ can't eat it."

He looked away.

"It smells and the kitchen is shared. Didn't want to make a nuisance of myself."

She shook her head, sighing.

"Teddy. You _have to_ take better care of yourself."

"I am, I promise. It was just a _week_. I made a huge pot of bolognese on Friday and froze in portions, but on Tuesday I just couldn't stand eating it again and gave away what was left... And well, guys bought me some Chinese in exchange for it, but other than that, it was rolls and tea for me."

She felt a painful squeeze around her heart at the thought of _Teddy_ doing that.

_It can't go on like this. I need to think about— Hm._

The bridge was under repair, leaving only one lane available, so they had to stop in front of the red light, letting the traffic from the opposite direction pass safely.

"How are you doing on the interior works?" Teddy asked suddenly. "I remember — you had someone come and check the wall hangings?"

"Yeah, we did. But the firm suggested by the National Fund was very much overloaded and they had free slots only in a year's time, even for just an initial visit, so I found a rather well-reviewed setup that did the same for Lyme Park and their results look great. Dad took my calculations and said that if we weigh the additional cost against potential loss of some of the pieces, we are going with them, since they have free specialists that can come immediately after the New Year. And we'll be sending a bunch of portraits for restoration, since it seems their placement in the house has affected them and they grew ugly dark..."

"That's a lot of work."

"Dad does most of it. He sets up and starts stuff, I just make sure to follow up, check in with the contractors etc. I help where I can," she shrugged and took a slow turn left, towards the last stretch of the road. "It is my house, too, after all."

"Rose..."

"Rose is studying what she loves and she's keeping very busy with it. And she can't be expected to help in daily things like that remotely."

Teddy hummed softly.

"And you?"

"What about me?"

He made an annoyed sound.

"Are you studying what you love? Are you happy at the university?"

She bit her lip.

"Is it an interesting course...?"

_No._

"It's good enough. A lot of practical stuff is what Mom has already shown me, so..."

"I'm not asking if it's easy, I'm asking if you like it."

She bit her lip and stared ahead, at the main gate they were slowly approaching.

"What difference does it make? It's university, it's not there to make me happy, or to make me like it, or..."

"Actually, to some degree, it is."

Teddy's voice was warm, worried and had an almost solid quality that she wanted to lean into, wrap herself in—

"I just need to get my BSc and hope Mom isn't disappointed with me."

She turned into the main drive and again, to the paved side road leading along the edge of the gardens, to the new house.

"This is some prime level bull— Mina, why would your Mom be disappointed with anything that you do? Is she disappointed with Rose doing her design degree? Would she be disappointed if you switched to something else - I mean, there has to be something—"

It slipped out before she even knew she had spoken.

_"I don't know what!"_

And there it was. Out in the open. Amongst all these people surrounding her - Dad with his company and house and foundation, Mom with her high demand job (or even jobs), Rose with her dream school, Teddy being— well, _Teddy_ , and everyone, even Delly, having some Big Ideas about what they wanted to do in life - Mina felt completely and utterly aimless. Directionless.

Devoid of grand objectives in her life.

Or of even a basic idea what to do with her education once she finished it.

"Hey, hey, Starlight— don't cry— Good thing we're at home, right? Let me take my bag from the backseat and we can go in, you can change out of these wet boots and we can get something to eat...?"

She found herself manhandled out of the car, Teddy shouldering her handbag and his own laptop bag and picking up the shopping. They moved up the stairs and into the warm corridor of her home, she was home and Teddy was taking her coat off and unwinding her scarf and peeling off her gloves and she was kicking her wet boots off into the direction of the large mat and there she was, just in her socks, with Teddy towering over her - in his uniform.

_Oh, God._

_In his. Uniform._

"W-what?"

She touched the green sleeve cautiously, sliding her fingers across the coarse fabric. His voice came hushed as he caught her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

"That's one thing I wanted to talk to you about, actually. I hoped we could meet and—" he sighed. "Don't be mad?"

She blinked the sudden tears away.

"Why would I? You— You always wanted to do this, and now— but you joined so early? I thought it was supposed to be your senior year—"

"Early acceptance program. I'll be taking my officer training in parallel. Psychology courses, history, tactics, I have a whole long list. My grades from last year were already good enough for them to offer me a spot."

She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm.

"Teddy—" she breathed, suddenly devoid of words. "You—"

"Officer Cadet Strickland, as of the first of December. I've gone through introduction weeks and some initial trainings— They told us to get used to wearing the uniform, and that it's proper to wear one when going home, too, so—"

"Did you get taller again, Strickland?"

"Two more inches," he shrugged helplessly. "Seems I'm a late bloomer."

She giggled helplessly and he leaned down - more, now that the heels in her boots were not adding the two inches to her height that she had been enjoying outside - and kissed her. No scarves in the way, no thick coats or gloves, just— Just them.

She pulled away slightly.

"We— we should sit. Sit and— get the tea— and—"

"We should, just let me get out of this jacket, I'm already way too warm. Getting used to wearing this will be a hassle—"

_And I'll be warm— Oh dear._

Large expanse of well-ironed khaki linen covered Teddy's shoulders, underlining his muscled built and—

"Come on, Starlight, let's fetch some tea and have a look at what you bought, because you seem to be actually swaying. Have you eaten lunch?"

"Ah. Well—"

He shook his head with a small laugh and picked up their things from the hall table.

"Tea, first. Then you can tell me what— No, first you'll eat."

####

Elizabeth frowned at the coats hanging messily in the hall. She would have to talk to Mina about this— At least the shoes were on the drying mat - Mina's artistically askew, but the other pair, man's boots, very carefully lined up.

_Hm._

The door to the living room was cracked open, but there were no sounds of conversation coming from the inside — and no _other_ sounds, either. She peeked in and then entered quietly.

The table held the obvious leftovers of a meal - two mugs, the large teapot, a plate of crumbs and one lonely roll - but the sofa— Hah, the sofa.

Teddy Strickland, khaki trousers and shirt, on his back, head propped on a small heap of cushions and the armrest and all stretched over him, holding onto him possessively even in her sleep, Mina.

And a uniform jacket on the back of the chair next to them.

_Oh, Teddy._

It had a bit of the feel of an old movie, or a book, when a newly drafted soldier comes home in his uniform — was it in "Rilla"? It had to be "Rilla", with Shirley coming in, and Susan seeing him so suddenly—

Teddy was not going into an active war zone any time soon, since he would only be working on army construction projects and relief actions, but still, there was that feeling of dread that came from seeing one so young in a uniform...!

"Good afternoon, Mrs Darcy."

Lizzy looked up and met his concerned gaze.

"Hi, Teddy."

She smiled - if a bit weakly - at the boy, because in her eyes he was still the same boy who had taken Mina's detentions on himself and fished her wedding ring from under the radiator. He might have grown to be as tall as her husband and started his army training, but he still was _Teddy_.

And now he was reclining on her living room sofa, holding her younger daughter securely in his arms. In fact, they were both holding onto each other quite closely. Teddy's arm was around Mina's waist while her fingers were wrinkling the nearly perfectly ironed fabric of his shirt. "How are you two?"

Because she had noticed. Mina might have been sure she had escaped the parental scrutiny and concern, but since William shared with her the summary of the weekend in August when the two had fallen apart, she knew what to look for, and Mina was showing all the obvious symptoms of a heartbreak. But since Rose and William both assured her that it hadn't been _really_ Teddy's fault - or at least not in any premeditated way—

"I'm fine, thank you. Mina may be a bit tired. We talked. It was—" he grimaced and turned away, pressing a kiss to Mina's hair. "Hard."

It was weird to watch them like this. Her baby was all grown up, had had her first school romance, a harrowing breakup (whatever had brought that on) and now the two of them were apparently _back together_.

Sometimes she felt she wasn't giving Mina enough attention. With Rose studying abroad and Alex demanding so much attention because of his delay of speech development, Mina had unexpectedly suffered the typical fate of a middle child - being somewhat overlooked.

At least now she had someone for whom she was The Priority.

"I'll make more tea," she offered softly.

Teddy only nodded, bringing Mina's head closer to rest on his shoulder and smiling.

When she came back, they were asleep again, so she put the tray on the table, covered the pot with a quilted cosy and pulled the large throw from the window seat over them tucking it in around Mina carefully.

####

The house was unexpectedly quiet when he came back. The light in the study meant either Elizabeth was going over the financial papers or Mina was reviewing the schedule of tasks for after the New Year. He could only smile, thinking about her level of dedication to the job. His girl was quickly becoming a candidate for the best property manager he had ever worked with— she was organised, saw both the detail and the big picture, kept meticulous records of everything that was possible to be tracked and had that _certain something_ that made big, grumpy, annoying foremen go all soft and kind and polite when explaining this or that detail of their work.

He needed to discuss the plan for replacing the west facing windows with her, since they'd have to order the correct casings and frames in advance, and she had been the one to work with that carpenter—

He paused in the corridor. Mina's teal coat was on the hanger, however crookedly, but next to it was an unknown - a long, heavy one. An additional - male, by the size - pair of heavy boots under the coats. A scarf and big gloves over Mina's own on the side table—

For a fleeting moment, he though of young Theodore and the way the two had split in such an abysmally stupid fashion in summer.

_I could have been kinder to them when they were still at school. They were just kids, they— Oh, well. Hindsight is always perfect, and they were kids. Stupid and— But on the other hand, they had always been so responsible— And Teddy **was** a good boy. And now?_

He grimaced in dismay, thinking about whoever it was that Mina had brought home. Definitely not a small man, either.

He _didn't like it_.

He knew perfectly well that she was an adult now, taking on all these responsibilities with the house and the grounds and— She had been his right hand in all the talks with contractors, always there for all the meetings (ones that didn't collide with her coursework, and some that did), for all the major milestones and all the decisions. Working with the crews, oftentimes knowing better what was going on than he did, considering these same crews visibly preferred talking to her than seeking out his opinion. She embraced all the logistics, from timely purchases to ensuring the roads were correctly made available, to securing the trees from damage, to ordering the food delivery for the late working teams.

He picked up her gloves, turning them slowly in his hands, noting the tear in the pinky finger - she had snagged that on a forgotten nail stuck in a window frame taken apart for measuring. He'd have to remember to pick up a new pair - and maybe carry some spare working gloves for her, just in case she needed to get hands-on again.

It had been a weird autumn for all of them. Rose gone, Alex in preschool, Elizabeth in London every other week and Mina— Mina heartbroken over Teddy, throwing herself into any kind of activity William would offer, from learning about the company accounts to mapping the way the fuses were connected in the big house.

On one hand, he had worried about her not following her old plans of applying to Imperial - especially since Elizabeth had been so involved in their "women in STEM" thingy, but on the other, it was good to have her home. Working on the great "Pemberley project" brought them closer to each other than anything else.

A pair of gloves, yes, and he would definitely have to convince her to buy herself a pair of working boots without heels or lifts. At that point nobody would care that she was half a head shorter than people working for her. She was a _Darcy_ and they _were_ all working for her.

He blinked and looked down at the gloves again.

And smiled.

They _were_ working for her, weren't they?

Whatever happened at the main house, even if it was triggered by him, or by the requirements of the National Trust lady, it was Mina who picked it up and made sure it was followed up, had a deadline assigned and was correctly reported. And the crews _did_. They reported, they warned about delays, they suggested improvements. They asked her for resources needed to implement whatever was approved.

Everyone looked to Mina for directions and leadership.

To his tiny tiny little girl, with her London accent still peeking out from under the broader, thicker way of speaking she had acquired over the course of her first growing season in Pemberley. It was always tough, being a new person, and Mina had struggled with the local accent and dialect for that first year of living in Pemberley, until the summer, the preparation for Georgiana's wedding, and then the harvest.

Apparently all the book studying and listening to her classmates and talking to him and Rose was much less effective than working with the estate staff day in and day out and spending the last two weeks of August in the fields.

Mina was a Darcy, of Pemberley, Derbyshire. And she had the brain and the drive to manage all these people who depended on her. She just needed to believe in herself more and stop deferring to his approval—

He paused, still fingering these gloves.

He would have to make his daughter an offer.

_After dinner and discussing it with Elizabeth first._

Now he just had to take his brain off the business, the audits — and what Mina would say to his proposal. Maybe he'd have a chance to finish that crossword he had started in the morning? The door to the living room was open, and it was quiet inside, so he walked in to look for the newspaper he had left there before breakfast... And froze.

Teddy Strickland, all six feet and some additional inches of him, was taking most of space on the big leather sofa (one that William liked in particular, since it was of a comfortable size to fit a man of his build), with Mina tucked into his side securely, both covered with one of Lizzy's more outrageous floral blankets.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

They were definitely not disappearing.

"What the hell?"

His whisper must have been just loud enough to rouse his daughter, because a large golden eye opened and glared at him in annoyance.

"Go 'way, Dad," she mumbled, nestling closer to her whatever-they-were-now. "Mm, Teddy..."

And now it was Mina's turn to freeze.

And blink.

"Um. It's not what it looks like?" she offered, a bit sheepishly.


	2. Chapter 2

"So the two of you are in fact _not_ taking a little afternoon nap in the living room, nearly out in the open view of everyone who could walk in, and apparently with your mother's blessing, judging by the blanket now covering you and the tea waiting on the table? Because this is what it looks like to me."

She relaxed minutely, again sinking into Teddy's sleeping embrace.

"OK, so this is exactly what it looks like," she sighed.

"Because if it looked like the two of you had been up to no good on the living room sofa, like a pair of idiot teens from an American sitcom, I'd be upstairs, fetching my shotgun. And I actually do have one."

Mina sat up, pulling the throw a bit off from Teddy, bringing William's attention to the khaki shirt the boy was wearing - and then he saw it. The uniform jacket on the chair next to the sofa.

_Oh, kitten._

"So you've fallen for a military man then?"

"I've fallen for Teddy, Dad. Stop it."

"I hope the two of you aren't planning to do something drastically opposite to what happened in August and, say, elope."

"No, but I _was_ hoping for a little conversation with you after dinner, Mister Darcy."

Teddy seemed to be remarkably calm for a man caught by his girlfriend's (when did THAT happen? ...again...?) father when cuddling with her in the living room, Will had to hand him that.

"Teddy? Is there something I should know about?" Mina scoffed and punched him slightly on the shoulder.

Teddy smiled and pulled her into a kiss.

"Will you marry me?"

A beat of silence.

And another.

Mina snorted.

"I can't believe you, Theodore. Are you seriously proposing to me like this? In my living room? In front of my father? Did you even notice that you're covered with an afghan made of little pink flowers?"

Teddy glanced down, having obviously ignored the aesthetics until that moment.

William bit his lip. It wouldn't do to laugh now, would it?

"Well, it is a nice afghan," the boy said. "And your mother _had_ covered us with it. That means a— well, blanket approval, I suppose."

William snorted.

" _Teddy_."

He couldn't help laughing even louder.

"Dad!"

"He's quite correct," William pointed out. "Can't read it any other way."

Mina rolled her eyes and sat up again, combing back her riotous hair.

"So, having my Mom's apparent blessing, now you decided to apply to my _father_."

"I am a good, proper, upright and well-behaved young man, right?"

"At least that's what everyone seems to be thinking about you," Mina scrunched her nose. "I'm not _that_ sure I agree..."

Teddy groaned. And, quite out of character for him, bodily pulled Mina up and kissed her in the "please be quiet" fashion he had _never_ applied in William's presence before.

William wasn't exactly sure what to think about the whole situation. In fact, for a moment, his thoughts were very much focused on one important aspect of what he witnessed.

His baby girl - his _younger_ daughter - his lost and found daughter - was cuddling with her boyfriend (again, when...?) on the sofa. In the living room. And had just had marriage proposed to her.

There was so much _new_ about this scene that William felt he might have some trouble processing it. Proposal was one thing. He would have to go and talk to Elizabeth about it and— And he would approve, of course, because how could he not - and anyway, it was up to Mina and Mina only, it was her life and her future— But they had _never_ been that physically expressive _before_. Hand-holding, yes. Hugs, yes. Full-bodied cuddling in plain view of others, no. He didn't want to consider the idea of them cuddling away from everyone else, but that wasn't the point right there and then. The point was, Mina was curled up in Teddy's lap, getting the living daylights snogged out of her.

William turned away and cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence.

"So?" Teddy's breathy voice broke the silence.

"So, what?"

"Wilhelmina. Charlotte. Darcy. I asked you a pretty simple question..."

He dared a peek. They had separated, but the mussed hair and slightly askew clothing gave them the appearance of such _domesticity_ it made his heart constrict.

"O-oh. Indeed..." Mina sat up again, pulling her shirt back into alignment. "I'd have to think about it..."

"Miii-na."

"Oh, well. Daddy?" she looked up at William and fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Do you approve?"

William sighed, rolling his eyes at her. Glanced at Teddy, who was studiously focusing on the flower pattern covering the two of them, his lips crooked in a smile.

"And you two think you can keep this steady this time? No more self-sacrificing breakups? No more badly explained if well-meant advice? And I mean this quite seriously."

The boy - young man! - reached out, pulling Mina closer. She curled into his side - the perfect picture of a couple so comfortable with each other that they don't even need to look at each other before instigating contact.

Just like him and Elizabeth.

Just like them.

"I think we can, Daddy," Mina sighed, leaning on Teddy's shoulder with a small smile.

"Well then, I approve. Your mother approves, apparently. Now all you have to do is ask Richard..."

"Dad!"

####

Teddy moved, dislodging her cautiously and deposited her back on the sofa, still wrapped in the afghan and his warmth as he strode out of the room purposefully.

"Dad, do you really have to? Now you've mentioned Uncle Richard and Teddy will—" she found herself _whining_ , because seriously, men in that family took way too much pleasure with torment—

Teddy was kneeling in front of her.

With a tiny box in his hands.

_Oh._

####

He hadn't really thought about his plans for that day. Yes, he had to get to grandma's at some point, if everyone else was staying there - however hateful it seemed - but he had been considering actually spending all afternoon in Matlock and heading family-wards on the last bus out. As the train rolled into the station and he was standing up, buttoning his coat, gathering his bags, he thought, just for a moment, about maybe— Maybe calling Mina. He had been meaning to call her from home that evening, but then if he tried to do it at grandma's, someone would have certainly overheard it, and that meant a stern lecture from grandma and— No. Better find a cafe in Matlock and call her from there.

Or maybe text André first to check if he had heard from Rose if she had heard from Mina? That was also a possibility. Much safer than just calling Mina directly, because what if— what if she had changed her mind? What if she was really seriously serious about all that letting him go and not really serious about agreeing to what Rose had suggested, the two of them waiting it out and disc—

Mina.

On the platform.

In her teal coat and yellow hooded scarf and—

People crowded around him, blocking his view.

But she was there.

Why was she there?

Because "how come she knew to be there" was pretty obvious - André was a snitch, especially since he got together with Rose, after four years of circling one another and claiming they were just friends.

_Just friends, my ass._

So Mina was there, waiting for him (because what else would she be doing on a railway station in Matlock, waiting for a train from Nottingham), looking like a dream.

Like several of his dreams, in fact.

At least one of them was centred on holding and kissing her just like this, outside, in the cold, and watching her cheeks pink up from the frost and blushes.

There were others - because after Rose had ordered him to think carefully about what exactly he wanted from Mina, he started, well, thinking.

There was, obviously, the option to just remain friends. Which was laughable and he dismissed it within seconds. The idea of being _friends_ with Mina, seeing her - maybe seeing her with someone else! - felt like a stab with a hot poker right into his _soul_.

They hadn't really known each other _that_ long, not like many other couples at school, who met all the way back in kindergarten. And when he fell for her, he didn't know a _thing_ about her. Yes, he had noticed her - or rather, _Rose_ , as she was pretending to be her sister - when Theresa first brought the news of someone beating up Ray. Then there was the competition and he heard her _singing_ and hey, he didn't remember Rose Darcy ever singing in public, but then, he hadn't exactly been displaying his talents either, so—

And then she turned out _not_ to be Rose, but Rose's twin sister, and things got a bit more complicated, but then they uncomplicated themselves, because she was Mina, and he was irrevocably, undoubtedly in love with her.

The next four years somehow passed with them just— just being so. They did the whole singing thing - together and separately - they did the dating thing - once Mina's father relented - but that was it. Plans? They had plans, yes. He had his rugby team and his Cadets camps, spending every free minute on training and studying in preparation for university and officer school. What he never really thought about was how exactly a relationship would fit in all of that. As long as they were in the same school, it somehow happened organically - even when he was busy, or when Mina started being more involved with the renovation of the old mansion house, they met at school, went on dates and just— just continued.

That first year away from home had been something of a wakeup call.

And then— Then Mina did the unthinkable, and decided to dump him. In the most roundabout way - by telling him it was for his own good...

The brakes groaned and the train stopped.

People were shuffling towards the exit, and he moved with them.

...he had spent the whole autumn term thinking, just like Rose ordered him - them - to do. And he knew what he wanted now.

He wanted Mina.

He wanted a happy Mina.

He wanted an honestly happy Mina.

And if she decided she was happier without him, he would step away.

But not if she tried to decide for _him_ that _he_ would be happier without her.

One of the options was picking up again where they had left and trying to just do what they used to do, but with more actual talking—

The platform was nearly empty now, and he saw her, tiny and alone, picking at her glove, not paying attention to anything around her, face drawn with worry and—

—and one option included the box that was now safely resting in the internal pocket of his coat.

Her nose was red and she looked so lonely and he just couldn't wait. Rose could scold him all she wanted, for as long as she wanted, but right here, in front of him, he saw all the future that he needed.

####

Teddy's lips were warm on hers, and maybe they were being outrageous, and maybe there were other people in the room, but the way Teddy felt - all around her, holding her, kissing her - and the small, but meaningful weight on her finger - that was important.

The door slammed somewhere in the distance and a voice rang through the house, but she ignored it, cuddling closer into Teddy's arms instead.

"...Mina?"

Her sister's sharp question brought her back to Earth.

Or rather, into Teddy's lap, where she had been perched for — well — some time already.

Considering Dad had left, probably grumbling and muttering, and had not returned, they must have been quite obnoxious.

She looked down - just a bit, since even like this she wasn't really taller than Teddy, and smiled. His clear, grey eyes watched her steadily, grounding her like nothing else could.

"So? Are you two frozen like this, or what? Should I get a bucket of water?"

Teddy's lips curled up in a small grin and he kissed her, oh-so-softly.

"Does she deserve to see it?" she whispered.

"Probably she deserves it the most of all," he pointed out.

"What have you— Theodore Strickland, what have you gone and done!?"

"He proposed?" Mina offered, sticking up her hand, decorated with a thin band adorned with one, dark yellow, topaz.

"That was a question or a statement?"

She looked into her twin's narrowed eyes, not moving from her comfortable perch.

"A statement. Teddy proposed and—" she shrugged. "We are engaged."

"Well I bloody well hope so," Rose dropped onto the nearest chair like a very tired sack of potatoes. "What did Mom and Dad say?"

"Dad was trying to threaten Teddy with Uncle Richard. Not sure about Mom, but she _did_ cover us with the throw when we fell asleep, so—"

"Did you fall asleep on the sofa? Like, here, in the living room?"

She glanced back at Teddy. At Rose. At Teddy.

"So? We were talking, and just, kind of—" she shrugged.

Rose snorted.

"You fell asleep right in the middle of the main room in the house, where everyone would see you, and— No, no matter. Show me that ring, girl. And tell me, what are your actual plans, hm?"

Mina sighed, stretched her hand out for her sister to catch, and cuddled closer into Teddy's side.

"I need to finish university, before we move forward with anything," Teddy declared softly. "And then — then I'll have the army contract, but at least I will be _earning_ money, instead of getting more and more into a debt. And—"

"And I want to be done with _my_ degree before we decide on anything specific," Mina sighed. "Which is another four and a half years of utter boredom..."

"Oh, kitten..."

They all jerked up, turning towards the door.

Mom was standing there, holding a thick file, her face scrunched up in sadness.

"What?"

"I never— Why would you—"

"Mom?"

Their mother placed the brochure on the table, right next to the tea tray, then rounded the table, pulled Teddy into a hug and kissed his forehead.

"Welcome to the family, Teddy. And you, young lady—" she sighed with exasperation, looking down at Mina, who curled into Teddy's side, watching her mother with wide eyes. "Did you really try to become a programmer just to make me happy?"

"I— Mom—!"

Mom sat down next to them and took Mina's left hand in hers.

"Mina, kitten, why didn't you say something? I would have never— You didn't want to go to London, to the best school imaginable, because you didn't really care, did you?"

She shook her head, not really willing to look up at all of them at this point.

"Mina? What do you _want_ to do?"

She shrugged mutely.

"Starlight?" Teddy's finger picked up her chin, pulling her up to meet his eyes. "Mina, what— You don't really like your coursework, do you?"

She cringed a bit. Just a bit.

"Is the workload so hard?" Mom ventured a question.

"Not really. I mean, I know a bunch of what they tell us— and a lot of it isn't really that interesting. And I failed— I mean, not _failed_ , but had some delays, because I needed to understand the way the assets are calculated, because I couldn't work out what the—"

"Told you."

Dad was sitting on a chair he had pulled from the dining table, and Mina wasn't exactly sure when he had joined them.

"Yeah, you were right."

"What are you two—"

"She was doing this to please you."

Mom squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"One thing I never wanted to be," she said, her voice tense. "My father."

"Mom!"

They finally looked at Mina, who was trying to understand what the hell they were talking about.

"Kitten, did you pick IT because you thought I expected this of you?"

Mina blinked. Looked away.

"N-no."

"Mina."

A beat of silence.

"Ducky."

She shrugged.

"What else was I supposed to do?" she asked finally. "Everyone... kinda... expected me to— to pick something finally? And I thought— I already know a lot of this stuff, so it would be easier, like, than trying out a new subject? And it's not like I hate computers, and I'm definitely better at using them than maybe ninety percent of my year, and, you know, they just think they can be great IT specialists because they know how to install a keylogger and make fun of people—"

Mom sighed.

"OK, now. Out, you two," she pointed to Teddy and Rose. "Rosie, take him upstairs, give him a shovel talk, show him Dad's old hunting rifles, whatever. We need to talk to Mina."

"B-but— Mom!"

"Or the kitchen. You can start preparing the vegetables for dinner. Now. Everything is on the counter, just wash it, cut it up and get the risotto started. We need to have dinner ready before Georgiana brings Alex back from his dance lessons."

The last she saw of Teddy was his bewildered expression as Rose pulled him out of the room. Next thing she knew was her mother hugging her with all her might.

"Kitten, kitten. I never wanted you to feel like you _have to_. Never. You don't have to. I mean, if you want to get a degree, and it's something you like, sure. We can do this. But not because you feel like it's a _requirement_."

"Rose is getting her degree," she mumbled.

"Rose is learning something she is interested in and getting a degree in it as a result," Mom corrected gently. "You are trying to get a degree and are making yourself miserable as a result. These are not the same."

"But— grandpa always said—"

Mom winced.

"Well, ignore grandpa's old mutterings, if you can. I try to, and even manage to, most of the time. It's just you, me and Dad. Ignore Rose, Teddy— everyone. Just tell me, where do you want to be in five years. Apart from probably being married to that big soldier of yours, that is."

Mina opened her mouth.

And felt— empty.

Married to Teddy, if possible, yes, please, thank you.

But—

"What do you want to do in two months from now, kitten?" Dad asked, leaning closer. "Let's talk shorter deadlines here."

"Well, there is the Valentines Gala to prepare for, which we've already started anyway," she started cautiously. "Other than that, well, writing that Python assignment due in April— Preparation for spring planting, too. Maybe some outside work done on the house, depending on the weather? And we should redraw some of the home farm plots, too— I had an Excel sheet prepared to calculate this, based on last year's sales, and Dad, we can't plant that many pumpkins, seriously, we didn't even sell half of them. Then we'll have to clean out the barn and buy more germination trays— What?"

Mom was rubbing her nose with a smile that was just a little bit sad.

"In a year?" Dad prompted. "What do you want to do by next December?"

"We'll be done with floor work in the kitchens— well, maybe have the west wing done, too. The pictures will come back from renovation, so they'll need storage until they are properly secured—"

Mom was hugging her again.

And apologising.

"Mommy...?"

"Shh. I'm being weepy now. Give me a moment."

Being hugged was always nice, so she had no objection—

"I'm sorry, kitten. I'm sorry you felt you have to get a degree — I — we never expected—"

"Com'ere duck," Dad's long arms gathered her in and she felt a rough kiss pressed to the crown of her head. "Yer a proper country lass, right? Dunna wittle nah. Ye can finish yer fancy college, or ye can jus' stay 'ome an' 'elp yer ol' Dad repair th'ol'ahs."

"William."

Mom sounded suspiciously shaky.

"Wha? Jus' speakin' me mind. Mina?"

"I'm not even going to try matching _that_ ," she sniffed. "And it's not a _fancy_ college, either."

"Much less fancy than what your father attended," Mom pointed out.

"B-but I thought—?"

"I have a business degree, kitten. MBA is a thing, you know. And Cambridge _is_ a university."

Mina blinked. And frowned.

"So why grandpa was making fun of you not having— ooh. A _business_ degree."

"Not a proper science. Just accountancy, purchases, logistics and human resources and all this down to earth nonsense."

"But that's normal useful stuff!" she reared up, frowning. "Why—"

Mina saw her parents exchanging A Look.

"What?"

"Kitten, how are your grades this term?"

"OK-ish? I mean— some of this stuff was easy, some was just boooring—"

"What— What would you think about taking the rest of the year off?"

 _What_.

"Mom?"

"You would benefit from changing the focus," Dad tapped one of the thick brochures Mom had brought earlier. "We kind of— talked about it with Mom. I noticed that you weren't really— as happy as Rose? And that you were getting on so well with the crews and in the company, and with the foundation, that maybe—"

"Dad was more intuitive than I was, speaking plainly," Mom interrupted him. "And he said that maybe you should apply for an MBA course in the fall semester."

"This year you can get half a year of just plain working in the company, to get to know everyday procedures and so on, not just dropping by in the afternoons, and with the house, which is what makes you _happy_. And then from September, you start a new school. Wherever you want, just at a place that has some sensible ratings."

"Imperial," Mom whispered.

"Manchester," Dad corrected. "It's an hour drive, so if the schedule is good, she will need a place to sleep there two nights a week and she could still live at home — she wouldn't have to move across half a country."

"But—"

"I _hate_ London, Mom," Mina sighed. "I really, really, really don't want to move there. Really. I know that you're OK with teaching at Imperial, but I just wouldn't be able to relax if I went there. I'm sorry!"

"Oh, kitten—!"

####

Rose made them both tea and pulled out vegetables that she ordered him to clean and peel.

"But maybe not in this shirt," she pointed out. "Not sure how this washes."

He grimaced at the thought and quickly unbuttoned and tugged the garment off, which resulted finally in him standing at the counter in Darcys' huge kitchen in his khaki trousers and white thermal t-shirt, scrubbing and peeling carrots, parsley and celery, elbow-to-elbow with Rose, who was mincing them and adding to the huge pan where she was preparing the risotto.

"You OK?" she asked finally, when he passed her another onion.

"Probably. Will be. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were just forcefully removed from the presence of your newly acquired fiancee," she pointed out. "And she was crying."

He sighed.

"Well, if your parents wanted to talk to her about this school stuff, better do it without additional witnesses. I've told her already, if she isn't happy with the subjects she chose, she should switch to something she likes, no matter what anyone else says."

"And you wouldn't be like, disappointed, if she never got a _science_ degree, or engineering, or something like this?"

Teddy paused.

"No," he said slowly. "I'd be disappointed if she _wanted_ one and didn't go for it, if you know what I mean. If it was because she felt she owed — say, if she decided to give up university because she wanted to— to move to where I'd be stationed, OK? I wouldn't want that. I'd argue that she should at least try to transfer the credits and continue with her degree wherever we'd end up living. Or that she should stay here and just graduate as per plan. But if she's unhappy—"

"I'll be OK."

Mina tugged at the knife he was holding and put it on the counter, sliding to position herself in front of him.

"Hi, Starlight. How are you then?"

"Hi," she whispered, half-smiling. "I— we had a talk. And I'll read the programs over the holidays and— And probably start MBA next fall."

He nodded slowly, watching her carefully.

"And you— What are you going to do for the rest of the year?"

She shrugged.

"I'll be working with Dad at the company. Organising stuff around the mansion. Taking over some things from Dad, so he can deal with the audits and so on. Getting the juice press setup better prepared for the next season."

"OK. That sounds reasonable—"

"And I'll do a lot of reading, you know. Dad still has his old textbooks, and all the regulations, and so on. And I will have a lot of time to study them, especially on the train."

He waited for an explanation, but Mina was only smiling.

"She's going to be visiting you, silly," Rose prodded him in the ribs. "Now, are you two done being obnoxiously sweet? Because there is a dinner to be prepared, and you are blocking access to the drawers I need."

He dived in to kiss Mina, just to confirm for himself that it was not all a complicated hallucination.

And then moved away. Rose _was_ holding a knife, after all.

####

They stretched out on the window seat, surrounded by cushions and covered with a thick knit blanket.

"You used to share your room with Rose," he murmured into her ear.

"Not anymore. She's next door. When she left for uni, I felt it didn't make sense to have all of my stuff spread across two rooms, so I moved my desk and books and— all that stuff here, and moved her clothes and bed to the other one. This way I get the corner room with more light and she gets the balcony. And—" she shrugged. "We both get our privacy."

"And my room for tonight is...?"

"Across the hall and down four doors. Basically, on the exact opposite corner. Yes, Dad was very particular about it."

He smothered a laugh.

"It was so kind of your parents to invite me to stay. I don't think I would have managed a week of my grandmother's conversation. I know! We are supposed to be understanding and— and everything, but when she starts pontificating about politics and international affairs, and society, and youngsters-these-days, I just can't. I know she is Dad's mother and we only go to see her twice a year, but I'm not exactly sure why my parents are still keeping in touch with her."

"Well, Dad actually hosted his mom's sister for years in the big house, and she was one toxic witch, as you very well know. So, I suppose, grownups do stupid things all the time, even if they try to look like they are all so reasonable."

He pulled her in closer and felt her cuddle to him with a sigh.

"Are you— are you OK with all the changes?" he asked tentatively. "I mean, more stuff happened today than in the last four months. I'm not sure _I_ am exactly alright."

"Nah. I'm not OK. But Mom reminded me it's OK to not be OK. It's acceptable to be sad or annoyed with stuff. Or to stop liking something you liked before."

"And— Engagement—? I mean, we did move pretty quickly here—"

"Teddy—"

"Just checking. Because, you know. I didn't want you to feel, like, pressured, because of— Because I asked in front of your Dad or something."

She punched him on the shoulder, lightly.

"If I didn't want you here, I would have driven you to the bus stop directly from the station," she grumbled. "And Dad or no Dad, I wouldn't have accepted you if I haven't—"

"And— when your Mom threw us out—"

He felt her burrowing in closer.

"It wasn't about us, or anything. So that you don't have to worry. It was about me and— and what I want to do."

"And?"

"Like I said. I will be switching to MBA, and this is, like, two years. I could add another degree later on, if I feel like it, but just— Dad told me what he did, and it all matches, you know? This is all the stuff I will need if I want to—"

"To work with your Dad."

She nodded, looking down.

"Hey," he nudged her temple with his nose, "don't hide. It's OK. You will be doing something that makes you happy, right? Working at your Dad's firm? And at the mansion?"

"Yeah. Yes, that— that is all I wanted. It feels kind of— small? I don't know. But then, it's a lot, at the same time? Like, like I've always felt that stuff is kind of expected of me? Grandpa Bennet — I know, but just, just listen — he was always saying stuff, that Mom should have done this or that, should have become a astrophysicist or whatever, and that I should do Big Things, too. Fly to the Moon or something. And— And all I want is right here. For the record, I know it sounds weird, because I'm all about women going out and— and having jobs and stuff, so it will sound weird, but I— I need to stay at home. Does this make sense? I need—" she took a shuddering breath. "Nobody loves Pemberley as much as I do."

_Well. Alright._

He waited. And waited. And...

"Rose loves it," he suggested. "And I'm pretty sure it's quite important for your Dad, too."

"Rose likes it, because— because she had always had it. Like, she knows it's there. She doesn't love it because it's special or— And Dad doesn't really _love_ it. He is a Darcy and it is the house of Darcys, so he feels he has to take care of it. Mom likes the estate, but she doesn't like the old house, and I'm not very surprised."

She paused, sitting up and wrapping her arms around herself, defensively.

"But I love it, OK? I know it's stupid, and I— I sound like some Pat Gardiner lookalike, but I love it. It's— It's the first place that was actually _home_. In London we've always lived in that flat Mom rented from my grandparents, and it wasn't really _ours_ , not the way Pemberley is. And I got to know Dad there, and met Aunt Georgiana, and— and I met you when we were still living there— and I love this house, because Dad built it for us specifically, us as a family."

"Mina—"

"And I love the gardens — even though I'm not the fan of digging in them the way Rose is, but I like planning and, and buying stuff, and organising— she can have her pretty layouts and proper arrangements, but I like to make sure the vegetable gardens give the proper yield and—"

"Starlight."

She paused and looked up at him.

"I get it. You want to stay here and take care of the house, right? And you feel weird, because it's not a modern feminist thing to do?"

She nodded jerkily.

"But your Dad _is_ doing it all, right? Being the boss at the estate, and in the company, and all these other places."

"Yeah."

"And if you work with him — take over from him, some duties — would that be a poor little female staying home and taking care of the house, or would that be you having a job and a half, because I know what kind of hours your Dad keeps, and that's not even close to normal working time?"

"When did _you_ become so smart, Theodore?"

It was his turn to take his time answering, which ended with Mina poking him in the ribs.

"Ah," he gasped, "Gender studies module. Covers a lot of different stuff. Including modern feminism and so on. Thought it might become useful."

She looked up at him sharply.

"Gender studies?"

"What can I say? I'm supposed to become an officer, and that means also psychology courses, and this one fulfils part of the credits I need—"

It was warm, and cuddly, and Mina's large window was as good as some beds and—

"You two done talking?" Rose knocked on the door to the bathroom. "Because it's half one and if Dad catches Teddy sneaking out to his room, it will not be pretty."

He looked down, at his thoroughly mussed up fiancee.

"We have a whole week to discuss this," she said reluctantly. "Better go."

Teddy dropped one more kiss on her lips.

And maybe another one.

And...

Yeah, it was time for him to leave.

Just one more kiss.

####

With the first days of actual spring temperatures, the work started on the external parts of the big house. And completely new troubles started on the very same day. But since the most needed person was not there, they had to wait—

"Miss Darcy! I'm sorry, I know you just came back yesterday, but we've hit a bit of a snag," Jacob Faber, the main master carpenter, intercepted his employer's daughter before she even got to the main door. "There is an issue with the wood delivered—"

The young woman sighed and pulled out her large tablet, fingers dancing across the screen.

"Show me, Master Faber. We've put in a request for—" she scrolled, "I see, a cubic meter of oak timber. And what did we get?"

"Either oak has changed significantly in the recent weeks, or it's pine, Miss. Soft, light pine."

"And this was supposed to go on—?"

"The west wall windows."

She tsked and grimaced. Yeah, he knew the feeling.

"Which means we can't use it, because pine will fall apart after a few bigger storms, yes. Not good. Was there _any_ oak in this delivery?"

"None at all. It was labelled 'oak', so someone accepted the pallet and left it in the assigned spot early in the morning. And now—"

She nodded, pursing her lips with distaste and peering closely at the labels.

"Let's move back a little bit, I'll take a photo. It's good that you didn't unwrap this completely, this way it's obvious it wasn't unpacked or repacked here," she clicked on the camera icon and took photos from a few angles, including the label that claimed, in fact, that it was oak. "Oh, well. Someone tries to rip off the Darcys, they get a new one ripped," she mumbled, not noticing the amused glances exchanged by several workers standing nearby. "Thank you, Master Faber. Cover this with a tarpaulin, and let's see what I can do about this."

With her phone at her ear, she turned away from the group of waiting employees and leaned on a stack of paving stones, the tablet propped on a slab in front of her.

"Hello, yes. I'm calling from Darcy Building Technologies. Can I speak to the manager? There is a problem with our order and I need to clarify the issue before I report this to Mister Darcy— My name is Wilhelmina Darcy. Yes, I'll hold," they heard her sigh and watched as she played with the end of her scarf, waiting. "Mister Rollespie? I'm afraid your company managed to deliver a mislabelled pallet—"

Jacob Faber sniffed and nodded to himself.

"That one may look like she'll break with any touch, but she's tougher than nails, she is."

"Ya got dat in one, Faber. Now, since ya mention dat, do we ask ol' man Darcy for a new order of nails, or will ya ask de lil' lady dere for signacher?"

He grimaced at the way his assistant referred to the woman in question.

"I think _Miss Darcy_ will be OK signing off on a stupid order of nails. Just as soon as she finishes talking at that thief at the timber company."

"It's a good ting t'see," the man said in his heavy accent. "A young ting like 'er, taking responsib'lty for de fam'ly home."

"Indeed it is. It wouldn't be good if any other _issues_ popped up, right?"

"It wouldn't, Faber, it wouldn't at all."

"So, we bring up no issues to Miss Darcy then?" one of the younger carpenters asked quietly, glancing at her.

"Well, no issues caused by _us_. We can't prevent fuckups like these timber idiots just made. And these we do bring up, because she is the one who can _solve them._ "

"It's better not to _cause_ any issues. And make sure nobody here tries to swindle her or be a jerk."

"We don't need ones like that on this site," the stonemason working on the side stairs grumbled. "Tha' poor girl tears hessel' apart when she finds out someone had been lying to her."

"It's much better if it's someone from outside, innit?"

"Indeed. It's so nice to watch her be all sweet and oh-so-understanding on them."

"Oh, she's getting there. Just you wait, just—"

Miss Darcy shook her head slowly at the phone and tut-tutted softly, as the men listened in avid curiosity.

"...I must say, I'm _disappointed_ , Mister Rollespie. I will have to talk to my father about finding a new supplier then."

"Dammit," the stonemason giggled. "When she says it like this, I feel like I'm in my preschool again and I've spilt my porridge down my pants. And she is half my years."

"Well then be'er get back to work, or she _will_ say she is disappointed with _ye_ ," one of the advised, making the men disperse.

Jacob Faber waited a few heartbeats for Miss Darcy to get back to him, and she was smiling - if only a bit crookedly.

"They are sending a pallet of oak right now, and we get to keep the pine as a form of apology. Well then, Master Faber, where can we use this lovely soft pine then? I was considering the replacement door casings in the farm buildings, since they were originally pine, too."

He opened his own thick pad and leafed through the pages.

"That for sure, but also — I think the shelving in the first basement wasn't discussed yet?"

"It wasn't, we were leaving it for later, indeed. Is this wood sturdy enough? _Is it worth oat?_ "

He smiled at her sudden drop into Derbyshire accent and made a note next to the shelves drafts as they walked up the temporary stairs to the main entrance.

"We'll have to make tests, of course—"

He held the door open for her and they walked inside, straight into the busiest worksite in the county.

"Good morning, Miss Darcy!"

"Morning, miss."

"Miss Mina!"

"Aah do, lassie?"

He watched the "little lady" greet everyone in turn, taking notes on her tablet about any problems arising and listing new orders to be made.

Miss Darcy, indeed.


End file.
